Method and apparatus for navigation systems

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a network element comprising a controlling element for forming assistance data relating to two or more signals transmitted by a reference station of at least one navigation system; and a transmitter for transmitting the assistance data via a communications network to a device. The device comprises a positioning receiver for performing positioning on the basis of two or more signals transmitted by a reference station of the at least one satellite navigation system; a receiver for receiving the assistance data from the network element; and an examining element configured to examine the received assistance data to find out information relating to the status of the two or more signals. The information comprises indication on the reference station the signal relates to, and the status indicates the usability of the signal.

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/574,481filed Dec. 16, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference, andwhich issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,442 on Apr. 10, 2012, which is aNational Stage of International Application No. PCT/FI2006/050083,International Filing Date Feb. 28, 2006, which designated the UnitedStates of America, and which published as WO 2007/099195 on Sep. 7,2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a field of assisted navigation systems andmore specifically to a format, in which information relating to thehealth of the satellites is distributed from a communications network toterminals. The invention also relates to a device comprising apositioning receiver for performing positioning on the basis of one ormore signals of a satellite navigation system. The invention alsorelates to a network element comprising a transmitter for transmittingassistance data of a satellite navigation system to a receiver. Theinvention further relates to methods for delivering assistance data of asatellite navigation system to a device and method for using theassistance data in the positioning of the device. The invention stillrelates to a module, computer program product, a signal, a carrierhaving a signal recorded thereon and an assistance data server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One known navigation system is the GPS system (Global PositioningSystem) which presently comprises more than 20 satellites, of which,usually, a half of them are simultaneously within the sight of areceiver. These satellites transmit e.g. Ephemeris data of thesatellite, as well as data on the time of the satellite. A receiver usedin positioning normally deduces its position by calculating thepropagation time of a signal received simultaneously from severalsatellites belonging to the positioning system to the receiver andcalculates the time of transmission (ToT) of the signals. For thepositioning, the receiver must typically receive the signal of at leastfour satellites within sight to compute the position. The other alreadylaunched navigation system is the Russian-based GLONASS.

In the future, there will also exist other satellite based navigationsystems than GPS and GLONASS. In the Europe the Galileo system is underconstruction and will be launched within a few years. Space BasedAugmentation Systems SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, GAGAN) are also being ramped up.Local Area Augmentation Systems LAAS, which uses fixed navigationstations on the ground, are becoming more common. Strictly speaking, theLocal Area Augmentation Systems are not actually satellite basednavigation systems although the navigation stations are called as“pseudo satellites” or “pseudolites”. The navigation principlesapplicable with the satellite based systems are also applicable with theLocal Area Augmentation Systems. Pseudolite signals can be received witha standard GNSS receiver. Moreover, Japanese are developing their ownGPS complementing system called Quasi-Zenith Satellite System QZSS.

The satellite based navigation systems, including systems using pseudosatellites, can collectively be called as Global Navigation SatelliteSystems (GNSS). In the future there will probably be positioningreceivers which can perform positioning operations using, eithersimultaneously or alternatively, more than one navigation system. Suchhybrid receivers can switch from a first system to a second system ife.g. signal strengths of the first system fall below a certain limit, orif there are not enough visible satellites of the first system, or ifthe constellation of the visible satellites of the first system is notappropriate for positioning. Simultaneous use of different system comesinto question in challenging conditions, such as urban areas, wherethere is limited number of satellites in view. In such cases, navigationbased on only one system is practically impossible due to the lowavailability of signals. However, hybrid use of different navigationsystems enables navigation in these difficult signal conditions.

Each satellite of the GPS system transmits a ranging signal at a carrierfrequency of 1575.42 MHz called L1. This frequency is also indicatedwith 154f₀, where f₀=10.23 MHz. Furthermore, the satellites transmitanother ranging signal at a carrier frequency of 1227.6 MHz called L2,i.e. 120f₀. In the satellite, the modulation of these signals isperformed with at least one pseudo random sequence. This pseudo randomsequence is different for each satellite. As a result of the modulation,a code-modulated wideband signal is generated. The modulation techniqueused makes it possible in the receiver to distinguish between thesignals transmitted from different satellites, although the carrierfrequencies used in the transmission are substantially the same. Dopplereffect results in a small (±5 kHz) change in the carrier frequencydepending upon the constellation geometry. This modulation technique iscalled code division multiple access (CDMA). In each satellite, formodulating the L1 signal, the pseudo sequence used is e.g. a so-calledC/A code (Coarse/Acquisition code), which is a code from the family ofthe Gold codes. Each GPS satellite transmits a signal by using anindividual C/A code. The codes are formed as a modulo-2 sum of two1023-bit binary sequences. The first binary sequence G1 is formed with apolynomial X¹⁰+X³+1, and the second binary sequence G2 is formed bydelaying the polynomial X¹⁰+X⁹+X⁸+X⁶+X³+X²+1 in such a way that thedelay is different for each satellite. This arrangement makes itpossible to produce different C/A codes with an identical codegenerator. The C/A codes are thus binary codes whose chipping rate inthe GPS system is 1.023 MHz. The C/A code comprises 1023 chips, whereinthe code epoch is 1 ms. The L1 carrier signal is further modulated withnavigation information at a bit rate of 50 bit/s. The navigationinformation comprises information about the health of the satellite, itsorbit, clock behaviour, etc.

In the GPS system, satellites transmit navigation messages includingEphemeris data and time data, which are used in the positioning receiverto determine the position of the satellite at a given instant. TheseEphemeris data and time data are transmitted in frames which are furtherdivided into subframes. FIG. 6 shows an example of such a framestructure FR. In the GPS system, each frame comprises 1500 bits whichare divided into five subframes of 300 bits each. Since the transmissionof one bit takes 20 ms, the transmission of each subframe thus takes 6s, and the whole frame is transmitted in 30 seconds. The subframes arenumbered from 1 to 5. In each subframe 1, e.g. time data is transmitted,indicating the moment of transmission of the subframe as well asinformation about the deviation of the satellite clock with respect tothe time in the GPS system.

The subframes 2 and 3 are used for the transmission of Ephemeris data.The subframe 4 contains other system information, such as universaltime, coordinated (UTC). The subframe 5 is intended for the transmissionof almanac data on all the satellites. The entity of these subframes andframes is called a GPS navigation message which comprises 25 frames, or125 subframes. The length of the navigation message is thus 12 min 30 s.

In the GPS system, time is measured in seconds from the beginning of aweek. In the GPS system, the moment of beginning of a week is midnightbetween a Saturday and a Sunday. Each subframe to be transmittedcontains information on the moment of the GPS week when the subframe wastransmitted. Thus, the time data indicates the moment of transmission ofa certain bit, i.e. in the GPS system, the moment of transmission of thelast bit in the subframe. In the satellites, time is measured withhigh-precision atomic chronometers. In spite of this, the operation ofeach satellite is controlled in a control centre for the GPS system (notshown), and e.g. a time comparison is performed to detect chronometricerrors in the satellites and to transmit this information to thesatellite.

During their operation, the satellites monitor the condition of theirequipment. The satellites may use for example so-called watchdogoperations to detect and report possible faults in the equipment. Theerrors and malfunctions can be instantaneous or longer lasting. On thebasis of the health data, some of the faults can possibly be compensatedfor, or the information transmitted by a malfunctioning satellite can betotally disregarded. The malfunctioning satellite sets a flag in asatellite health field of a navigation message indicative of a failureof the satellite. It is also possible that a Control Segment of aSatellite Navigation System detects abnormalities in the operation of asatellite or in signals of a satellite. Hence, the Control Segment canalso set a non-healthy indication for such a satellite. This indicationcan also be set when a satellite is tested or during a possiblecorrection operation of the orbit of the satellite.

It is also possible to detect abnormalities in the operation of asatellite by examining signals transmitted by a satellite. For example,an observing station may perform measurements of residuals of apseudorange and if the residual deviates from a computational residualmore than a predetermined threshold, the observing station determinesthat the satellite is not operating properly. Another option is tocompare the accuracy of the ephemeris data transmitted by a satellite toa reference data.

The number of satellites, the orbital parameters of the satellites, thestructure of the navigation messages, etc. may be different in differentnavigation systems. Therefore, the operating parameters of a GPS basedpositioning receiver may not be applicable in a positioning receiver ofanother satellite system. On the other hand, at least the designprinciples of the Galileo has indicated that there will be somesimilarities between GPS and Galileo in such a way that at least Galileoreceiver should be able to utilize GPS satellite signals in positioning.

Positioning devices (or positioning receivers) i.e. devices which havethe ability to perform positioning on the basis of signals transmittedin a navigation system can not always receive strong enough signals fromthe required number of satellites. For example, it may occur that when athree-dimensional positioning should be performed by the device, it cannot receive signals from four satellites. This may happen indoors, inurban environments, etc. Methods and systems have been developed forcommunications networks to enable position in adverse signal conditions.If the communications network only provides navigation model assistanceto the receiver, the requirement for a minimum of three signals intwo-dimensional positioning or four signals in three-dimensionalpositioning does not diminish. However, if the network provides, forinstance, barometric assistance, which can be used for altitudedetermination, then three satellites is enough for three-dimensionalpositioning assuming the positioning receiver has access to barometricmeasurements (e.g. from an integrated barometer). These so calledassisted navigation systems utilise other communication systems totransmit information relating to satellites to the positioning devices.Respectively, such positioning devices which have the ability to receiveand utilize the assistance data can be called as assisted GNSSreceivers, or more generally, assisted positioning devices.

Currently, only assistance data relating to GPS satellites can beprovided to assisted GNSS receivers in CDMA (Code Division MultipleAccess), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and W-CDMA(Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) networks. This assistance dataformat closely follows the GPS navigation model specified in theGPS-ICD-200 SIS (SIS, Signal-In-Space) specification. This navigationmodel includes a clock model and an orbit model. To be more precise, theclock model is used to relate the satellite time to the system time, inthis case the GPS time. The orbit model is used to calculate thesatellite position at a given instant. Both data are essential insatellite navigation.

The availability of the assistance data can greatly affect thepositioning receiver performance. In the GPS system, it takes at least18 seconds (the length of the first three subframes) in good signalconditions for a GPS receiver to extract a copy of the navigationmessage from the signal broadcasted by a GPS satellite. Therefore, if novalid copy (e.g. from a previous session) of a navigation model isavailable, it takes at least 18 second before the GPS satellite can beused in position calculation. Now, in AGPS receivers (Assisted GPS) acellular network such as GSM or UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System) sends to the receiver a copy of thenavigation message and, hence, the receiver does not need to extract thedata from the satellite broadcast, but can obtain it directly from thecellular network. The time to first fix (TTFF) can be reduced to lessthan 18 seconds. This reduction in the time to first fix may be crucialin, for instance, when positioning an emergency call. This also improvesuser experience in various use cases, for example when the user isrequesting information of services available nearby the user's currentlocation. These kind of Location Based Services (LBS) utilize in therequest the determined location of the user. Therefore, delays in thedetermination of the location can delay the response(s) from the LBS tothe user.

Moreover, in adverse signal conditions the utilization of the assisteddata may be the only option for navigation. This is because a drop inthe signal power level may make it impossible for the GNSS receiver toobtain a copy of the navigation message. However, when the navigationdata is provided to the receiver from an external source (such as acellular network), navigation is enabled again. This feature can beimportant in indoor conditions as well as in urban areas, where signallevels may significantly vary due to buildings and other obstacles,which attenuate satellite signals.

When a mobile terminal having an assisted positioning receiver requestsfor assistance data, the network sends the mobile terminal onenavigation model for each satellite in the view of the assistedpositioning receiver. The format in which the assistance data is sent isspecified in various standards. Control Plane solutions include RRLP(Radio Resource Location Services Protocol) in GSM, RRC (Radio ResourceControl) in W-CDMA and IS-801.1/IS-801.A in CDMA. Broadcast assistancedata information elements are defined in the standard TS 44.035 for GSM.Finally, there are User Plane solutions OMA SUPL 1.0 and variousproprietary solutions for CDMA networks. The common factor for all thesesolutions is that they only support GPS. However, due to the ramp up ofGalileo, all the standards shall be modified in the near future in orderto achieve Galileo compatibility.

The international patent application publication WO 02/67462 disclosesGPS assistance data messages in cellular communications networks andmethods for transmitting GPS assistance data in cellular networks.

The navigation systems index the satellites to express the satellite theinformation relates to. This is called as satellite indexing. Thesatellite index is used to identify the navigation model with a specificsatellite. Every navigation system has its own indexing method.

GPS indexes satellites (SV, Space Vehicle) based on PRN (PseudoRandomNoise) numbers. The PRN number can be identified with the CDMA spreadcode used by the satellites.

Galileo uses a 7-bit field (1-128) to identify the satellite. The numbercan be identified with the PRN code used by the satellite.

GLONASS uses a 5-bit field to characterize satellites. The number can beidentified with the satellite position in the orbital planes (thisposition is called a “slot”). Moreover, in contrast to other systems,GLONASS uses FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) to spreadsatellite broadcasts in spectrum. It is noted here that there is also aCDMA spread code in use in the GLONASS. There is, therefore, a tablethat maps the satellite slot number to the broadcast frequency. This mapmust be included in any assistance data format.

SBAS systems use PRN numbers similar to GPS, but they have an offset of120. Therefore, the first satellite of the SBAS system has a satellitenumber of 120.

Since QZSS SIS ICD is not public yet, there is no detailed informationon the satellite indexing in the system. However, since the system is aGPS augmentation, the GPS compatible format should at high probabilitybe compatible with QZSS as well.

Pseudolites (LAAS) are the most problematic in the indexing sense. Thereis no standard defined for indexing pseudolites currently.

However, the indexing should at least loosely follow the GPS-typeindexing, since they use GPS-type PRNs. Therefore, by ensuring that therange of satellite indices is sufficient, it should be possible todescribe LAAS transmitters with GPS-type satellite indexing.

In addition to these requirements (indexing, clock model and orbitmodel), the navigation model must include information on model referencetime (t_(REFERENCE) in the clock model, similar time stamp is requiredfor the orbit model), model validity period, issue of data (in order tobe able differentiate between model data sets), SV health (indicateswhether navigation data from the SV is usable or not).

The current satellite health field requires modification, since in thefuture GPS (and other systems) do not transmit only one signal, butvarious signals at different frequencies. Then, it is possible that oneof these signals is unusable, but others are fine. Then, the satellitehealth must be able to indicate this mode of malfunction. Currentsolution in GPS is only able to express malfunction is some signal(without specifying which one). The problem was previously solved onlyby saying that the whole satellite is broken and not just some specificsignal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention is that instead of specifying that some particularsatellite is broken, a list of specific broken signals that theparticular satellite transmits is provided. If the whole satellite isbroken, then there is a special value for marking any signal broken forthat particular satellite. The approach can be used at least with GPS,Galileo, GLONASS, SBAS, LAAS and QZSS. There are also reservations foryet unknown future systems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided adevice comprising

-   -   a positioning receiver for performing positioning on the basis        of one or more signals transmitted by reference stations of at        least one satellite navigation system;    -   a receiver for receiving assistance data relating to at least        one navigation system; and    -   an examining element adapted to examine the received assistance        data;        characterised in that said examining element adapted to examine        the assistance data to find out information relating to the        status of said one or more signals of the reference stations of        the navigation system, said information relating to the status        of said one or more signals of the reference stations comprising        indication on the reference station the signal relates to, and        said status indicating the usability of the signal, wherein the        device is adapted not to use in the positioning such a signal        which is indicated not to be usable.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda network element comprising

-   -   a controlling element for forming assistance data relating to        one or more reference stations of at least one navigation        system; and    -   a transmitting element for transmitting assistance data to a        communications network;        characterised in that the network element further comprises    -   an examining element adapted to examine the status of said one        or more signals of the reference stations of the navigation        system to determine the usability of the signal in a positioning        of a device;        wherein the controlling element is adapted to    -   insert, for each signal the examining element determined not to        be usable in a positioning of the device, an indication on the        non-usability of the signal, said indication comprising        information on the signal and on the reference station the        signal relates to into the assistance data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided asystem comprising:

-   -   network element which comprises        -   a controlling element for forming assistance data relating            to one or more reference stations of at least one navigation            system; and        -   a transmitting element for transmitting assistance data to a            communications network;    -   a device which comprises        -   a positioning receiver for performing positioning on the            basis of one or more signals transmitted by reference            stations of said at least one satellite navigation system;        -   a receiver for receiving said assistance data from the            communications network; and        -   an examining element adapted to examine the received            assistance data;            characterised in that the network element of the system            further comprises    -   an examining element adapted to examine the received navigation        data to find out information relating to the status of said one        or more signals of the reference stations of the navigation        system, said information relating to the status of said one or        more signals of the reference stations comprising indication on        the reference station the signal relates to, and said status        indicating the usability of the signal;        wherein the controlling element is adapted to    -   insert, for each signal the examining element determined not to        be usable in a positioning of a device, an indication on the        non-usability of the signal, said indication comprising        information on the signal and on the reference station the        signal relates to into the assistance data;        and that said examining element of the device is adapted to        examine the assistance data to find out information relating to        the status of said one or more signals of the reference stations        of the navigation system, said information relating to the        status of said one or more signals of the reference stations        comprising indication on the reference station the signal        relates to, and said status indicating the usability of the        signal, wherein the device is adapted not to use in the        positioning such a signal which is indicated not to be usable.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provideda module for a device, the device comprising

-   -   a positioning receiver for performing positioning on the basis        of one or more signals transmitted by reference stations of at        least one satellite navigation system; and    -   a receiver for receiving assistance data from a communications        network;        wherein the module comprises an examining element adapted to        examine the received assistance data;        characterised in that said examining element is adapted to        examine the assistance data to find out information relating to        the status of said one or more signals of the reference stations        of the navigation system, said information relating to the        status of said one or more signals of the reference stations        comprising indication on the reference station the signal        relates to, and said status indicating the usability of the        signal, wherein the module further comprises an output to        transfer to the positioning receiver an indication on such a        signal which is indicated not to be usable.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod for transmitting assistance data to a device, the methodcomprising:

-   -   forming assistance data relating to one or more reference        stations of at least one navigation system; and    -   transferring the assistance data to the device;        characterised in that the method further comprises    -   examining the status of said one or more signals of the        reference stations of the navigation system to determine the        usability of the signal in a positioning of a device; and    -   inserting, for each signal the examining indicated not to be        usable in a positioning of the device, an indication on the        non-usability of the signal, said indication comprising        information on the signal and on the reference station the        signal relates to into the assistance data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod for using assistance data in a positioning of a device, themethod comprising:

-   -   receiving assistance data relating to one or more reference        stations of at least one navigation system;        characterised in that the method further comprises    -   examining the received assistance data to find out information        relating to the status of said one or more signals of the        reference stations of the navigation system, said information        relating to the status of said one or more signals of the        reference stations comprising indication on the reference        station the signal relates to, and said status indicating the        usability of the signal; and        leaving out such a signal, which is indicated not to be usable,        from signals to be used in a positioning of the device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there is provideda computer program product for storing computer program having computerexecutable instructions for

-   -   forming assistance data relating to one or more reference        stations of at least one navigation system; and    -   transferring the assistance data to a device;        characterised in that the computer program further comprises        computer executable instructions for    -   examining the status of said one or more signals of the        reference stations of the navigation system to determine the        usability of the signal in a positioning of a device;        inserting, for each signal the examining indicated not to be        usable in a positioning of the device, an indication on the        non-usability of the signal, said indication comprising        information on the signal and on the reference station the        signal relates to into the assistance data.

According to a eighth aspect of the present invention there is provideda computer program product for storing computer program having computerexecutable instructions for

-   -   receiving assistance data relating to one or more reference        stations of at least one navigation system;        characterised in that the computer program further comprises        computer executable instructions for    -   examining the received assistance data to find out information        relating to the status of said one or more signals of the        reference stations of the navigation system, said information        relating to the status of said one or more signals of the        reference stations comprising indication on the reference        station the signal relates to, and said status indicating the        usability of the signal; and        leaving out such a signal, which is indicated not to be usable,        from signals to be used in a positioning of the device.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention there is provided asignal for delivering assistance data to a device, the signal comprising

-   -   assistance data relating to one or more reference stations of at        least one navigation system;        characterised in that the signal further comprises, for each        signal of a reference station not usable in positioning, an        indication on the non-usability of the signal, said indication        comprising information on the signal and on the reference        station the signal relates to.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention there is provided aa carrier having a signal recorded thereon for delivering assistancedata to a device, the signal comprising

-   -   assistance data relating to one or more reference stations of at        least one navigation system;        characterised in that the signal further comprises, for each        signal of a reference station not usable in positioning, an        indication on the non-usability of the signal, said indication        comprising information on the signal and on the reference        station the signal relates to.

According to a eleventh aspect of the present invention there isprovided an assistance data server comprising

-   -   a controlling element for forming assistance data elating to one        or more reference stations of at least one navigation system;        and    -   a transmitting element for transmitting the assistance data to a        communications network;        characterised in that the assistance data server further        comprises    -   an examining element adapted to examine the status of said one        or more signals of the reference stations of the navigation        system to determine the usability of the signal in a positioning        of a device,        wherein the controlling element is adapted to insert, for each        signal the examining element determined not to be usable in a        positioning of a device, an indication on the non-usability of        the signal, said indication comprising information on the signal        and on the reference station the signal relates to into the        assistance data.

The invention shows some advantages over prior art. In those cases whereonly some specific signal is broken, the other signals that theparticular satellite transmits are still usable and therefore there isgoing to be more usable signals and therefore the availability of theA-GNSS service can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail withreference to the appended drawings, in which

FIG. 1 depicts as a general, simplified diagram a system in which thepresent invention can be applied,

FIG. 2 depicts a reference receiver of a navigation system according toan example embodiment of the present invention as a simplified blockdiagram,

FIG. 3 depicts a network element according to an example embodiment ofthe present invention as a simplified block diagram,

FIG. 4 depicts a device according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention as a simplified block diagram,

FIG. 5 depicts according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 shows an example of a frame structure used in the GPS system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 there is depicted an example of a system 1 which can be usedfor positioning a device R. The system 1 comprises reference stations S,such as satellites S1 of a first navigation system, for example the GPS,and satellites S2 of a second navigation system, for example theGLONASS. It should be noted here that GPS and GLONASS are only mentionedas non-limiting examples here and also other reference stations S thansatellites can be used (e.g. pseudolites of the LAAS). Also the numberof reference stations is greater than shown in FIG. 1. The navigationsystems comprise one or more ground stations G. The ground station Gcontrols the operation of the satellites S1, S2 of the navigationsystems 2, 3, respectively. The ground station G can e.g. determinedeviations of the orbits of the satellites and the accuracy of theclock(s) of the satellites (not shown). If the ground station G detectsa need to correct the orbit or the clock of a satellite S1, S2, ittransmits a control signal (or control signals) to the satellite S1, S2which then performs a correction operation on the basis of the controlsignal(s). In other words, the ground station G refers to the GroundSegment of the navigation system.

During their operation, the satellites S1, S2 monitor the condition oftheir equipment. The satellites S1, S2 may use, for example, watchdogoperations to detect and report possible faults in the equipment. Theerrors and malfunctions can be instantaneous or longer lasting. On thebasis of the health data, some of the faults can possibly be compensatedfor, or the information transmitted by a malfunctioning satellite can betotally disregarded. The malfunctioning satellite S1, S2 sets a flag ina satellite health field of a navigation message indicative of a failureof the satellite. The satellite S1,S2 can also indicate in thenavigation message a signal or signals which is/are not operatingproperly. It is also possible that the ground station G can detect thatsome satellite is not operating properly and set an indication of themalfunctioning signal(s) of that satellite. This indication can then betransmitted to the communications network P in a navigation message.

In this non-limiting example embodiment the communications network P isthe GSM network and the network element M communicating with thereference receiver C.2 is the Serving Mobile Location Centre (SMLC) ofthe GSM network. The reference receiver C.2 can transmit assistance datato the network element M. The network element stores the assistance datato a memory M.4 (FIG. 3) for transmission to a device R when the deviceR needs the assistance data to perform assisted positioning operation.It is also possible to transmit the assistance data from the networkelement M to the device R before it is needed. For example, the device Rcan request the assistance data of all visible satellites and store thenavigation data to the memory R.4 of the device R for later use.

The network element M can also be the Serving Mobile Location Centre(SMLC) of the GSM network. The Serving Mobile Location Centre is eithera separate network element (such as the MSC) or integrated functionalityin a base station B (BSC, Base Station Controller) that contains thefunctionality required to support location based services. The SMLCmanages the overall co-ordination and scheduling of resources requiredfor locating a device R. It also calculates the final location estimateand estimates the achieved accuracy. The SMLC may control a number ofLocation Measurement Units (LMU) for the purpose of obtaining radiointerface measurements to locate or help locate the mobile stationsubscribers in the area that it serves.

Now, the main elements of an example embodiment of the referencereceiver C.2 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.The disclosure is applicable to both the reference receiver C of thefirst navigation system and the reference receiver C″ of the secondnavigation system, although practical implementations may be differentfrom each other. The reference receiver C.2 comprises a controller C.1for controlling the operation of the reference receiver C.2. Thecontroller C.1 comprises e.g. a processor, a microprocessor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP) or a combination of these. It is obvious thatthere can also be more than one processor, microprocessor, DSP, etc. inthe controller C.1. There is also a receiver C.2.2 for receiving signalsfrom the satellites S1, S2 of the navigation system. The referencereceiver C.2 further comprises a communication block C.3 forcommunicating, either directly or indirectly, with the network element Mof the communications network P. The communication block C.3 comprises atransmitter C.3.1 for transmitting signals to the network element M and,if necessary, a receiver C.3.2 for receiving signals transmitted by thenetwork element M to the reference receiver C.2. The reference receiverC.2 may also comprise memory C.4 for storing data and software (computerprogram code).

The structure of an example embodiment of the network element M isdepicted in FIG. 3. The network element M comprises a controller M1.Also the controller M.1 of the network element may be constructed of aprocessor, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP) or acombination of these. It is obvious that there can also be more than oneprocessor, microprocessor, DSP, etc. in the controller M.1. The networkelement M can communicate with the network element C.2 by the firstcommunication block M.2. The first communication block M.2 comprises areceiver M.2.2 for receiving signals from the reference receivers C.2 ofthe navigation systems. The first communication block M.2 may alsocomprise a transmitter M.2.1 for transmitting e.g. request messages tothe reference receiver C.2 of the navigation system. The network elementM further comprises a second communication block C.3 for communicatingwith the base stations B or other access points of the communicationsnetwork P. The second communication block M.3 comprises a transmitterM.3.1 for transmitting signals to the base stations B and a receiverM.3.2 for receiving signals transmitted by the base stations B to thenetwork element M. The network element M also comprises memory M.4 forstoring data and software (computer program code).

The network element M obtains the assistance data either from satellitebroadcasts by using a reference receiver C.2 or some other externalsolution, e.g. from an assistance data server X intended to gather andtransmit such information to communications networks. The assistancedata server X comprises analogous elements with the network element Mwith respect to the operations relating to the receiving navigationdata, forming and transmitting the assistance data (i.e. the receiverM.2.2, the controller M.1, the transmitter M.3.1, the memory M.4). Theassistance data server X may also comprise elements of the referencereceiver C.2. The assistance data server X is, for example, a server ofa commercial service provider from who assistance data can be requested,maybe against a fee.

The reference receiver C.2 is not necessarily a separate device locatedoutside the communications network P but can also be a part of thenetwork element M.

In another example embodiment the assistance data server X can alsoanalyse signals received by the reference receiver C.2 (which can alsobe part of the assistance data server X) and determine whether asignal/satellite is operating properly or not.

FIG. 4 depicts a device R according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention as a simplified block diagram. The device R comprisesone or more positioning receivers R.3 for receiving signals from thereference stations S1, S2 of one or more navigation systems. There canbe one positioning receiver R.3 for each navigation system the device Ris intended to support, or it may be possible to use one positioningreceiver R.3 for performing positioning on the basis of signals of morethan one navigation system. The device R also comprises a controller R.1for controlling the operation of the device R. Again, the controller R.1of the network element may be constructed of a processor, amicroprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP) or a combination ofthese. It is obvious that there can also be more than one processor,microprocessor, DSP, etc. It is also possible that the positioningreceiver R.3 can comprise a controlling element R.3.1 (e.g. a processor,a microprocessor and/or a DSP), or the positioning receiver R.3 uses thecontroller of the device R in positioning. It is also possible that someof the positioning operations are carried out by the controlling elementR.3.1 of the positioning receiver R.3 and some other positioningoperations are carried out by the controller R.1 of the device. Thedevice R can communicate with a base station B of the communicationsnetwork P by the communication block R.2. The communication block R.2comprises a receiver R.2.2 for receiving signals from the base station Bof the communications network P. The communication block M.2 alsocomprises a transmitter R.2.1 for transmitting messages to the basestation B of the communications network P. Data and software can bestored to the memory R.4 of the device. The device R is also providedwith a user interface R.5 (UI) which comprises, for example, a displayR.5.1, a keypad R.5.2 (and/or a keyboard), and audio means R.5.3, suchas a microphone and a loudspeaker. It is also possible that the devicehas more than one user interface.

The device R is, for example, a mobile communication device intended tocommunicate with the communications network P as is known as such. Theuser interface R.5 can be common to both the mobile communication partand the positioning receiver R.3.

In the following, a non-limiting example of fields of the Real-TimeIntegrity information element will be disclosed with reference to theTable 1. In the Table 1, associated bit counts are shown. According tothe present invention, The Real-Time Integrity field is intended to beused to communicate the satellite health data to the device R.

TABLE 1 Parameter # Bits Scale Factor Range Units Incl. The followingfield occurs once per message UTC 32 1 0-(2³² − 1) sec M The followingfield occurs once per signal (NBS times) Bad_SSS_ID 14 1 — — C

The Real-Time Integrity field of the GNSS Assistance Data InformationElement contains parameters that describe the real-time status of theGNSS constellations. Primarily intended for non-differentialapplications, the real-time integrity of the satellite constellation isof importance as there is no differential correction data by which thedevice R can determine the soundness of each satellite signal. TheReal-Time Satellite Integrity data communicates possible abnormalitiesin the operation of the satellite(s) of the GNSS constellations to thedevice R in real-time or almost real-time. The network element M shallalways transmit the Real Time Integrity field with the current list ofunhealthy signals, for any A-GNSS positioning attempt and wheneverA-GNSS assistance data is sent. If the number of bad signals (NBS) iszero, then the Real Time Integrity field shall be omitted. When theExtended Reference IE is included in the RRLP Measure Position Requestmessage or in the RRLP Assistance Data message, then the MS shallinterpret the absence of a Real Time Integrity field in the assistancedata provided by the SMLC to mean that the number of bad signals iszero. If the Extended Reference IE is not present, this interpretationapplies when the assistance data is provided by the network element Mfollowing a previous request of the device R for Real Time Integritydata.

The UTC field indicates the UTC time (Universal Time, Coordinated) whenthe list was generated.

The NBS value indicates the number of SSS ID's that follow that thedevice R should not use at this time in a position fix. This NBS valueis determined from the Bad_SSS ID list.

The Bad_SSS ID field is used to indicate the system, satellite index SSSID, SV/Slot and Signal ID of the satellite signal which is notfunctioning properly. Because the indication contains information on thesatellite system, the Bad_SSS ID field can be generally used to indicatethe different positioning signals in the different satellites anddifferent satellite systems. The SSS ID is a 14-bit field divided to 3subfields which are as follows:

The first three bits form the System ID field, which contains the IDnumber of the satellite system;

-   the next six bits form the SV/Slot ID field, which contains the    index of the satellite in the system; and-   the last five bits form the Signal ID field, which contains the ID    number of the positioning signal

The bit mask for SSS ID is the following:

System ID (3 bits, range 0 . . . 7): xxx-----------

SV/Slot ID (6 bits, range 0 . . . 63): ---xxxxxx-----

Signal ID (5 bits, range 0 . . . 31): ---------xxxxx

The System ID specifies the satellite system that the satellite andsignal belong to. In the current version of this interface the followingsystems are supported: GPS, Galileo and SBAS, GLONASS, QZSS and LAAS(pseudolite). In Table 2 the correspondence between the system and thevalue of the System ID field is depicted.

TABLE 2 System ID Indication GPS 0 SBAS (e.g. WAAS, EGNOS) 1 Galileo 2GLONASS 3 QZSS 4 LAAS 5 Reserved for future use 6 Reserved for futureuse 7

The SV ID is an index number for a satellite within a satellite system.The SV_ID has a value range: 0-63. The SV ID value range starts from 0for each satellite system. Actual PRN number for the satellite can beobtained by adding a satellite system specific offset to the SV IDvalue. The offsets are defined in the following table 3.

TABLE 3 System ID Index Offset Parameter Value GPS SV_BASE_GPS 1 SBASSV_BASE_SBAS 120 Galileo SV_BASE_GALILEO 1 GLONASS SV_BASE_GLONASS 1QZSS SV_BASE_QZSS TBD LAAS SV_BASE_LAAS TBD

In the case of GLONASS, SV ID refers to orbit Slot Number of a specificsatellite.

However, it is also possible to use other implementations than the abovementioned to indicate the information relating to non-properly workingsignals.

The Signal ID specifies one satellite-positioning signal from thedifferent signals output by a satellite. An ANY value is used in signalID when a specific satellite is selected without specifying any signal.This is needed e.g. in real time integrity information element whenreporting integrity failure for a satellite rather than a failure for aspecific signal.

TABLE 4 Signal ID Indication Any 0 GPS_L1_CA 1 GPS_L2C (data) 2 GPS_L2C(pilot) 3 GPS_L5 (data) 4 GPS_L5 (pilot) 5 GALILEO_L1-B (data) 6GALILEO_L1-C (pilot) 7 GALILEO_E5A (data) 8 GALILEO_E5A (pilot) 9GALILEO_E5B (data) 10 GALILEO_E5B (pilot) 11 GLONASS L1 12 GLONASS L2C13 Reserved for future use 14-31

The navigation system assistance data message contains also other fieldsand information elements than the real time integrity informationelement. However, they are not important in view of the presentinvention and it is not necessary to discuss them in more detail here.

When there is a necessary to transmit the navigation system assistancedata message in the communications network, e.g. from the networkelement M to the device R, the information is mapped into one or moremessages applicable in the communications network. For example, in GSMcommunications network there is a certain message delivery approach(Radio Resource LCS Protocol, RRLP) formed for transmission of locationrelated information. This approach is defined in the standard 3GPP TS44.031, which defines the format of the assisted GPS data exchangedbetween the network element M and the device R. In this invention, thisapproach can be used to send the more general health data to the deviceR.

In the network element M the available navigation information such asDGPS/DGNSS correction, ephemeris and clock correction and almanac datais mapped into corresponding fields of the assistance data message(s).The ephemeris, clock correction, almanac and other data relating to aparticular satellite are obtained from a satellite navigation message ofthat satellite or from an external service X. The message is received bythe reference receiver C or by a reference receiver in the externalservice module X. The assistance data message comprises a Cipher Controlelement to indicate if the information is ciphered or not, CipheringSerial Number element, and Data Information Element. The DataInformation Element (Data IE) carries the navigation information. Theelements are depicted in Table 5 below.

The Assistance Data message is, for example, built so that it is fittedinto a fixed length message not necessary occupying the whole message.It can contain three data sets: DGPS/DGNSS correction, ephemeris andclock correction, almanac and other data information. In case that thefixed length message has less information elements than bits availablethen the rest of the message is filled with fill bits. No undefinedspare bits are usually not allowed between elements. In an exampleembodiment the channel to broadcast the Assistance Data message is e.g.CBCH over which the SMSCB DRX service is used. One SMSCB message hasfixed information data length of 82 octets and the maximum length of GPSAssistance Data is 82 octets. The device R can identify the LCS SMSCBmessage with Message Identifiers declared in 3GPP TS 23.041.

TABLE 5 Occur- Pres- Parameter Bits Resol. Range Units rences enceCipher Cipher 1 — 0-1 — 1 M Control On/Off Cipher- 1 — 0-1 — 1 M ing KeyFlag Ciphering Serial 16 —   0-65535 — 1 C Number Data 638 — — — — M

In FIG. 5 an example assistance message A according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention is shown. The message comprises theReal-Time Integrity field A.1. The Real-Time Integrity field A.1comprises a Time field A.1.1 (UTC) and one or more Bad Signal Indicationfields A.2 according to the number of non-healthy signals which shouldbe reported to the device R. The Bad Signal Indication field A.2contains information of the satellite to which the faulty signal belongs(A.2.2), the system the satellite belongs (A.2.1), and indication of thesignal (A.2.3), which has failed. In this example embodiment theassistance message A does not contain an explicit indication of thenumber of failed signals but it can directly be derived from the numberof Bad Signal Indication fields A.2 included in the message.

Now, an example situation on the usage of the assistance message formataccording to the present invention will be described in the following.The network element has storage area M.4.1 in the memory M.4 for storingnavigation data received from the reference receiver C.2. If there is nonavigation data stored e.g. of the satellites of the first navigationsystem, the controller M.1 of the network element forms a query message(not shown) and transfers it to the first communication block M.2 of thenetwork element. The transmitter M.2.1 makes protocol conversations, ifnecessary, to the message and transmits the message to the referencereceiver C of the first navigation system. The receiver C.3.2 of thecommunication block of the first reference receiver C receives themessage, makes protocol conversions, if necessary, and transfers themessage to the controller C.1 of the reference receiver C. Thecontroller C.1 examines the message and determines that it is a requestto transmit navigation data to the network element M. If the memory C.4contains the requested navigation data, it can be transmitted to thenetwork element M, unless there is a need to update the navigation databefore the transmission.

After the navigation data is updated, the controller C.1 of thereference receiver forms a message containing the navigation data andtransfers it to the transmitter C.3.1 of the second communication blockof the first reference receiver C. The controller C.1 also determines ifthere are satellites which are not operating properly. The controllerC.1 examines signals from such non-healthy satellites to determine ifthere are any healthy signals which can be received from that satellite.For example, the controller C.1 may perform measurements of residuals ofa pseudorange and if the residual deviates from a computational residualmore than a predetermined threshold, the controller C.1 determines thatthe satellite is not operating properly. Another option is to comparethe accuracy of the ephemeris data transmitted by a satellite to areference data. If the examination indicates that there is at least onehealthy signal available from that satellite, the controller C.1 formsan indication of each of the non-healthy (i.e. failed) signals of thatsatellite to the assistance data message. However, if the examinationindicates that all the signals from the non-healthy satellite arefailed, the special indication value (=any) can be formed for thatsatellite. In that case there is only one Bad Signal Indication fieldA.2 relating to that satellite in the assistance data message.

The transmitter C.3.1 transmits, after protocol conversions ifnecessary, the navigation data to the network element M. The receiverM.2.2 of the network element receives the message, makes protocolconversions, if necessary, and transfers the message to the controllerM.1 of the network element, or stores the navigation data received inthe message directly to the memory M.4 of the network element. Thememory may comprise certain areas (M.4.1, M.4.2 in FIG. 3) for storingnavigation data of satellites of different navigation systems. Hence,the data is stored to the area which is reserved for the navigationsystem from which the navigation data was received.

The assistance data can be transmitted to the device R either by requestor by a broadcast transmission, e.g. on a control channel of thecommunications network P. In the GSM system a GPS Assistance DataBroadcast Message format is defined which can be used in such broadcasttransmissions for GPS. The assistance data is included in the messageutilising the format defined in this invention. For example, thecontroller M.1 of the network element M examines whether there are anybad signal indications and if the examination indicates that there is atleast one failed signal, the controller M.1 forms the Real-TimeIntegrity field A.1 and inserts into it the Bad Signal Indication fieldA.2 for the faulty signals/satellites. Then, the controller M.1constructs an assistance data message comprising the Real-Time Integrityfield A.1 to be transmitted to the device R.

It should be noted here that the definition of time in this assistancedata format is different from the present GPS time. As mentionedearlier, for instance, GPS time rolls over every week. The new timedefinition does not do this. Moreover, the manner in which time isdefined is not relevant from the point of view of the invention.

The controller can browse the navigation data of the first navigationsystem stored in the first storage area M.4.1 to form other assistancedata messages to transmit other navigation data, when necessary.

When assistance data message A is formed, the assistance data messagecan be transmitted to the communications network. The controller M.1.transfers the data in the assistance data message storage area M.4.3 tothe second communication block M.3 of the network element. Thetransmitter M.3.1 of the second communication block of the networkelement M performs the necessary operations for forming the signals fortransmission carrying the assistance data, and transmits the signals tothe communications network P.

The signals are received by the receiver R.2.2 of the communicationblock of the device R. The receiver R.2.2 demodulates the data from thereceived signals and e.g. transfers the data to the controller R.1 ofthe device R. The controller R.1 stores the data into the memory R.4 ofthe device R and examines (R.1.1) the assistance data. The examinationcomprises determining (R.1.2) the Bad Signal Indication fields A.2 (ifany). As mentioned above, the device R can deduce the number of failedsignals from the number of Bad Signal Indication fields A.2 included inthe message. Indication on the failed signals can be transferred to thepositioning receiver R.3 e.g. through the output line R.1.3 of thecontroller R.1. However, it is also possible that the controller R.1 isalso used in the positioning operations wherein it may not be necessaryto transfer the data (indication on the failed signals and/or the numberof failed signals) to the positioning receiver R.3 but the controllerR.1 can use the data stored in the memory R.4.

The memory R.4 can comprise a storage area R.4.1 for storing thenavigation data received in the assistance data messages as well asindication of the faulty signals. Navigation data can also be received,in some circumstances, from satellites by demodulating receivedsatellite signals.

When the assistance data is retrieved from the assistance datarecord(s), they can be kept in the memory and used in the positioning.For example, when the positioning receiver R.3 can only demodulatesignals from one or two satellites, the positioning receiver R.3 can usethe assistance data for performing the positioning as is known as such.

When the positioning receiver R.3 needs to use assistance navigationdata of one or more satellites, it also examines the informationrelating to the real-time integrity field to determine whether there areany signals from satellites which are not working properly, and tries touse other signals/satellites instead.

The device R can perform the positioning at certain intervals, or when apredetermined condition is fulfilled. The predetermined condition caninclude, for example, one or more of the following situations: the userinitiates to a call e.g. to an emergency centre; the user selects apositioning operation from a menu of the device R; the device R and thecommunications network P perform a handover to another cell of thecommunications network P; the communications network P sends apositioning request to the device R; etc.

It is also possible that the communications network, e.g. the networkelement M requests the device R to perform positioning. The request canbe send using the RRLP message delivery mechanism. Also the reply can besent using the RRLP message delivery mechanism.

When the positioning is to be performed, the positioning receiver R.3 orthe controller R.1 of the device can examine whether there is enoughup-to-date navigation data stored in the memory R.4. If some navigationdata is not up-to-date (i.e. the navigation data has become older than apreset time), or some necessary navigation data is missing, the devicecan form and send a request message to the communications network P, forexample to the base station B, which forwards the request message to thenetwork element M. The network element M gathers the requestednavigation data and forms a reply message. The reply message is thentransmitted via the serving base station B to the device R. The receiverR.2.1 of the communication block R.2 of the device receives anddemodulates the reply message to retrieve the navigation data. Thenavigation data is stored e.g. into the navigation data storage areaR.4.1 of the memory R.4.

It should be noted that the navigation assistance message specifiedcontains various items (specifically, t_(oe) _(—) MSB, fit interval,IOD, t_(oc), T_(GD), t_(oe), r₀, r₁) that are, of course, important forthe navigation model to function properly, but are not important fromthe point-of-view of this invention. For instance, the reference timefor the model can be given in various ways (now, t_(oe) _(—) MSB, t_(oc)and t_(oe)), but changing it does not affect the functionality of thetransmission of the SV health indication. The parameters, which are notimportant from the point-of-view of the current invention, are onlygiven for the sake of completeness.

Also, it should be emphasized that the actual bit counts and scalefactors are subject to change, if new specifications or clarificationsshould appear. Changing the bit counts and/or scale factors does notchange the spirit of the invention. For instance, adding resolution tovelocity components would not be a different invention. As a yet anotherexample, consider the SS ID. The indexing method currently used instandards is able to differentiate only between GPS satellites. The nowproposed SS ID contains information on the system and the satellite.These two can be expressed in the same field, but it is not necessary todo so (given that the system is defined in some other field). Hence, asimple modification of the fields would not, again, change the spirit ofthe invention.

The communications network P can be a wireless network, a wired network,or a combination of these. Some non-limiting examples of thecommunications networks have already been mentioned above but WLAN andWiMax networks can also be mentioned here.

The operations of the different elements of the system can mostly becarried out by software, i.e. the controllers of the elements operate onthe basis of computer instructions. It is, of course, possible that someoperations or parts of them can be “hard coded” i.e. implemented byhardware.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a positioning receiverfor performing positioning on the basis of two or more differentsatellite-positioning signals transmitted by a same reference station ofat least one satellite navigation system, the differentsatellite-positioning signals being specifiable by different signalidentities; a receiver for receiving assistance data relating to said atleast one navigation system; and an examining element adapted to examinethe received assistance data; wherein said examining element is adaptedto examine the assistance data to find out whether the assistance dataincludes information on usability of at least one of said two or moredifferent satellite-positioning signals, wherein if the assistance datacomprises information relating to the usability of at least onesatellite-positioning signal, said examining element is further adaptedto examine said information to find out an indication of the referencestation to which said at least one satellite-positioning signal relatesand the signal identity of said at least one satellite-positioningsignal, wherein the device is adapted not to use in the positioning suchsatellite-positioning signal which is indicated not to be usable.
 2. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein said information relating to theusability is transmitted in a message comprising a Real-Time Integrityfield, wherein said examining element is adapted to examine theReal-Time Integrity field to determine the number ofsatellite-positioning signals indicated not to be usable and theidentity of satellite-positioning signals indicated not to be usable. 3.A device according to claim 2, wherein said Real-Time Integrity fieldcomprises one Bad Signal Indication field for each non-usablesatellite-positioning signal, wherein said examining element comprises adetermining element adapted to examine the number of Bad SignalIndication fields in the Real-Time Integrity field to determine thenumber of satellite-positioning signals indicated not to be usable.
 4. Adevice according to claim 3, wherein said Bad Signal Indication fieldcomprises said indication on the reference station the non-usablesatellite-positioning signal relates to.
 5. A device according to claim4, wherein said indication on the reference station thesatellite-positioning signal relates to is assigned a predeterminedvalue to indicate that all satellite-positioning signals of onereference station are not usable, wherein said Real-Time Integrity fieldcomprises only one Bad Signal Indication field for such a referencestation.
 6. A device according to claim 3, wherein said determiningelement is adapted to determine that all satellite-positioning signalsof the navigation system are usable when the examination indicates thatthere are none of the Bad Signal Indication fields in the Real-TimeIntegrity field.
 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein thepositioning receiver is adapted to receive satellite-positioning signalsfrom at least two different navigation systems.
 8. A device according toclaim 1, wherein said information comprises an indication of thenavigation system to which the assistance data relates, wherein theexamining element is adapted to examine said indication of thenavigation system.
 9. A device according to claim 1, wherein the deviceis a mobile communication device.